The retail giant is reportedly rewarding US customers for using pick-up points more often.
Online retail behemoth Amazon has started offering $10 to some of its US customers for picking up their purchases instead of having them delivered, Reuters reported on Monday.
Over the past few days, subscribers to the Amazon Prime service reportedly received emails saying the company would refund $10 for orders of $25 or more picked up at locations including Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh or Kohl’s stores. The number of subscribers emailed by Amazon is unknown.
The step comes as e-commerce companies seek to cut costs for home delivery, while struggling with slack consumer demand.
By encouraging clients to use pickup points more, Amazon expects to bypass costly residential package drop-offs, providing “a huge opportunity for Amazon to reduce the cost of delivery,” according to Upstate New York-based shipping consultant Dean Maciuba, as cited by the news agency.
The practice also helps train consumers to tender returns directly to the company, Maciuba, who was among the customers who received the offer, added.
Separately, Amazon has started charging some customers a $1 fee if they return purchases using a United Parcel Service store when there is an Amazon pickup-return location closer to their delivery address.
For years, the online e-commerce giant has been known for its fast, no-fee deliveries and returns. However, Amazon’s last quarterly report in 2022 revealed slowing growth and tight margins, forcing the company to tighten its belt after a period of explosive growth.
The corporation has taken numerous steps to reduce delivery-related costs. Last year, Amazon hiked the price of its annual Prime subscription, which includes free shipping benefits, by $20 to $139, raised the minimum-order threshold for free grocery delivery, encouraged customers to have all of their packages delivered on a designated day of the week, and expanded speedier same-day parcel delivery with a fee for orders under $25.
Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to cut an additional 9,000 jobs just two months after announcing that 18,000 positions would be eliminated.
